Postgraduate education
Further to the Bologna agreements, the University of Geneva has adapted its range of postgraduate education courses to the new structure devised in accordance with the unification process. The basic (pregraduate) training is now organised around the university bachelor and the university master. This training can be followed up with a specialised training (postgraduate) that generally leads to obtaining a doctorate or a master of advanced studies (MAS). See organisation chart of university studies (in French).
The Faculty of medicine has also undergone this transformation. All programmes included in the pregraduate training (in French) have undergone an in-depth revision. However, unlike the other branches of university studies, in addition to a bachelor diploma and a master diploma, the pregraduate training in medicine is sanctioned by a federal exam in medicine. Passing this exam gives access to the federal diploma of medicine.
With regards to the postgraduate training, the existing doctorate diplomas have not undergone any major changes. The Faculty of medicine faculty offers a range of faculty and pluri-facutly doctorates. However, the medical faculty recently devised new framework regulation for medical studies and now provides a new series of diplomas, the master of advanced studies (MAS) in clinical medicine. The dental section of the Faculty of medicine also has a master of advanced studies (MAS) in dental medicine.
Faculty doctorates
- Doctorate in human (MD) or dental (MDD) medicine (during specialisation)
- Doctorate in medical science "MD-PhD"
Pluri-faculty doctorates
In order to practise medicine, postgraduate training is mandatory and the right to practice medicine in Switzerland is pre-conditioned to obtaining the title of specialised physician delivered by the Federation of Swiss Physicians (FMH - Fédération des médecins suisse or Foederatio Medicorum Helveticorum ). To date, this title is the only recognised official degree although it is not a university degree. Please note that most specialisation titles delivered by the FMH do not hold having a doctorate as a prerequisite. However, depending in what direction a physician wants to direct his/her career, namely with regards to academia, the degree of medical doctor (MD) is mandatory.
In order to compensate the weak university valorisation of the clinical training, which takes place, nonetheless and to a large extent, within the university environment, the Faculty of medicine of the University of Geneva has established a new diploma, the master of advanced studies (MAS) in clinical medicine, which affords physicians, coming from outside of the European Union in order to specialise in Switzerland and who cannot claim the specialisation degree awarded by the FMH, the possibility to go back to their home country with a diploma.